Git Worktrees

When you need to review a PR while keeping your feature work untouched, or run long tests on main while continuing development, worktrees let you check out multiple branches simultaneously in separate directories. Instead of stashing or cloning, you get parallel working directories that share the same Git database. The skill covers the essential commands (add, remove, list, prune) plus practical patterns like comparing implementations side by side, cherry-picking specific commits between worktrees, and maintaining a locked reference checkout of main. The one gotcha: each branch can only be checked out in one worktree at a time, so you can't accidentally work on the same branch in two places.

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last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add neolabhq/context-engineering-kit --skill git-worktrees --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Git Worktrees

Overview

Git worktrees enable checking out multiple branches simultaneously in separate directories, all sharing the same repository. Create a worktree instead of stashing changes or cloning separately.

Core principle: One worktree per active branch. Switch contexts by changing directories, not branches.

Core Concepts

Concept	Description
Main worktree	Original working directory from `git clone` or `git init`
Linked worktree	Additional directories created with `git worktree add`
Shared `.git`	All worktrees share same Git object database (no duplication)
Branch lock	Each branch can only be checked out in ONE worktree at a time
Worktree metadata	Administrative files in `.git/worktrees/` tracking linked worktrees